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SPORTS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS WORLD SERIES Dodgers win, force Game 7 By RONALD BLUM Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Joc Pederson sliced a drive over the left-fi eld wall, pounded his chest and danced around the bases, taking as many twists and turns as this World Series itself. Of course, the Los Angeles Dodgers forced the Houston Astros to Game 7. Chris Taylor hit a tying double off Justin Verlander during a two-run rally in the sixth inning, Corey Seager followed with a go-ahead sacrifi ce fl y and the Dodgers beat the Astros 3-1 on Game 6 Houston Los Angeles 1 3 Tuesday night to push this dramatic Fall Classic to the ultimate game. Pederson homered in the seventh against Joe Musgrove, connecting off the right-hander for the second time in three games to make it a record 24 long balls hit in this Series. Pederson pranced all the way to the plate, pointing at the Dodgers’ dugout and rubbing his thumbs and index fi ngers together to indicate what a money shot it was. Mired in a major slump earlier this season, Pederson was demoted to the minors — and teammates began offering to pay him for opposite-fi eld home runs in an effort to get him to hit the ball the other way. “I kind of black out in a situation like that,” said Pederson, who has three homers in the Series. “I’m going to have to re-watch it to see what I did.” Yu Darvish starts Wednesday for the Dodgers, trying to win their fi rst title since 1988, and Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw will be ready in the bullpen. Lance McCullers Jr. goes for the Astros in the fi rst World Series Game 7 ever at Dodger Stadium. “It’s only fi tting,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Darvish was chased in the second inning of Game 2, when McCullers pitched Houston to a 5-3 victory. “Two incredible teams, trying to get to the fi nish line,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. Two nights after a 13-12, See WORLD SERIES/3B AP Photo/Alex Gallardo Los Angeles Dodgers’ Austin Barnes (15) celebrates at the dugout after scoring on a double by Chris Taylor during the sixth inning of Game 6 of the World Series against the Houston Astros Tuesday in Los Angeles. HEPPNER NFL Nichols’ put Mustangs on the map Family helps cross country running emerge in Heppner By ALEXIS MANSANAREZ East Oregonian A few years ago you wouldn’t be able to fi nd any runners from Heppner competing in the cross country state championships. It wasn’t due to a lack of talent. It was simply because there was no cross country team to begin with. That changed three years ago when Russ and Toni Nichols saw a hole that needed to be fi lled. The couple had been contem- plating it for years. After fi nding time away from the many other obligations they had along with getting the OK from the administration, Heppner had its fi rst ever boys and girls cross country team. “Without having that program — and not just our own kids — but there were kids ahead of them that really wanted it and talked about it, so we thought about it for a while,” Toni Nichols said. “But Russ was really involved with baseball at the time, and we had a lot of things we already volunteered for and we were coaching track at that time. “So, it took us a couple years of talking about it,” she added, “and talking with administration to get them on board. It’s just one those (things) where there was a need.” Coaching cross country at the high school level would be a new endeavor for the already talented duo. Russ, an experienced runner himself, had been coaching a running club in town. Toni, aside from coaching track, traded in the soccer jersey she once sported for a clipboard instead and started coaching youth soccer in Heppner. Soon, their experience would come together to form what is now a 25-person team. “The more we heard of interest the more we wanted See NICHOLS/3B Trade deadline features action for a change Several big-name players change teams By ARNIE STAPLETON Associated Press Staff photo by E.J. Harris Heppner’s Hunter Nichols competes in the Kyle Burnside Memorial Invite recently at Wildhorse Resort golf course in Mission. The NFL trade deadline fi nally featured some big-name buzz. The winless San Fran- cisco 49ers acquired New England backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo , and the NFL-leading Philadelphia Eagles bolstered their running attack Tuesday by adding Jay Ajayi from Miami. The Buffalo Bills, who at 5-2 are off to their best start since 1993, upgraded their receiving group by acquiring Kelvin Benjamin from the Panthers for their third- and seventh-round picks in next year’s draft. The trades came a day after the Seattle Seahawks agreed to send cornerback Jeremy Lane and two draft picks to Houston for left tackle Duane Brown . Midseason trades rarely bring much excitement or shake up the playoff races. Most years the NFL trade deadline comes and goes without much happening. In each of the past two years, the biggest name bandied about was 10-time Pro Bowler Joe Thomas, but he never left Cleveland for a contender. It wasn’t even a possibility this season after the star left tackle tore his left triceps Oct. 16, an injury that required season- ending surgery and ended his consecutive plays streak at 10,363. The Niners agreed to send a 2018 second-round pick to the Patriots in the deal that will be offi cial once Garoppolo passes a physical. San Francisco (0-8) had been expected to either draft a quarterback high in the See TRADES/3B Sports shorts Seahawks could be without Earl Thomas for Sunday’s game RENTON, Wash. (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks are unsure of the status of safety Earl Thomas after he suffered a strained hamstring late in their win over the Houston Texans. Seattle coach Pete Carroll said Monday the team won’t know until late in the week whether Thomas will be able to play against Wash- ington. Thomas was injured in the Thomas fourth quarter of Seattle’s 41-38 win over Houston as he tried to chase down DeAndre Hopkins on a 72-yard touchdown catch-and-run. Thomas pulled up holding his right hamstring and was unable to go back in later in the fourth quarter. He was replaced by Bradley McDougald. “He’s a little sore. We’ve looked at him, he has a strain that we have to fi gure out,” Carroll said. “Off the court we’ve got great chemistry, great bond. Just, on the court we just got to be better. Like, talking, communicating, enjoying the game together. Having fun. ... Right now guys are not having fun.“ — Tyronn Lue Cleveland Cavaliers head coach on his team’s slow start. Cleveland is off to a 3-4 start and rank as one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA with recent losses to Brooklyn, New York and Orlando. Georgia No. 1 in initial College Football Playoff rankings NEW YORK (AP) — Georgia, Alabama, Notre Dame and Clemson are the top four teams in the fi rst College Football Playoff rankings of the season. Oklahoma and Ohio State were the next two in the selection committee’s initial top 25. The fi nal rankings that will determine the participants in the College Football Playoff semifi nals come out Dec. 3. Over the fi rst three seasons of the playoff, a total of fi ve teams have been ranked in the top four of the initial ranking and gone on to reach the semifi nals: Florida State (which was second) in 2014; Clemson (fi rst) and Alabama (fourth) in 2015; and Alabama (fi rst) and Clemson (second) in 2016. Washington is the highest-ranked Pac-12 team at No. 12 and Washington State is No. 25. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1938 — Before a crowd of 40,000 spectators, Seabiscuit, under jockey George Woolf, beat odds-on favorite War Admiral in the Pimlico Special, a winner-take-all match race with a purse of $15,000. 2010 — The San Fran- ciso Giants beat the Texas Rangers 3-1 in a tense Game 5 to bring a World Series title to the city by the Bay for the fi rst time. Tim Lincecum outduels Cliff Lee in a matchup that was scoreless until Edgar Renteria earns the Series MVP award by hitting a stunning three-run homer with two outs in the seventh inning. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
